Its my party, and I'll cry if I want to
by madcrafter72
Summary: My entry for the Castle Halloween 2015 Bash. Rick Castle finds himself alone and rejected at his own Halloween party. Now updated with Kate's POV, because the ear-worm wouldn't leave me alone until I let it out.
1. Chapter 1

Castle Halloween Bash 2015 Entry

Rick Castle finished putting the last decorations up for his Annual Halloween bash mid-afternoon. He was so lost in planning, he didn't realise it was so quiet until he put the unused decorations into the hall closet. Where was Alexis? Usually his daughter was right in the middle of all these festivities with him. He checked his phone to make sure it was not on silent, and he hadn't missed any messages, then pressed speed dial 1. It rang quite a few times before Alexis picked up.

"Hi Dad, what's up?" she said, like it was any other day.

"Hi pumpkin, I just finished decorating, and I thought you would be here by now", Rick answered.

"Sorry Dad, not going to make it this year" Alexis said, seeming distracted.

"What? But this is our tradition! We always do Halloween together. And I need you here to save me from the publishing monster" Rick tried to joke, but his heart was breaking inside. What was going on with Alexis?

"Sorry, Dad, I think I'm a bit old for Halloween now, and I think you are too. It's just a bunch of people wanting to be seen, all fake smiles and bitchiness. I don't have time for that now, and I have some exams coming up in a couple of weeks, so I thought I would just stay at Paige's house. They never get trick or treaters here, the doorman doesn't let them in, so we will have peace and quiet for a change."

Rick was heartbroken. His little girl was growing up way too fast, and now she was ditching Halloween too? It was so not fair! But being the good father he was, he couldn't let Alexis see how much this was hurting him, so he put on a happy voice for her.

"Okay pumpkin, if that is what you want, then go for it."

Thanks, Dad. Oh, and Dad, I really don't like the nickname Pumpkin any more either, it's for little girls and especially wrong this time of year. Sorry. Gotta go, bye" and all he heard was dial tone.

Not only was she not going to be here for the ultimate party of the year, now his daughter didn't want him using his favourite nickname for her. The one he had used since she was born, in honour of the gorgeous colour of her hair, nothing to do with Halloween at all. This was terrible. But Rick knew the party would be starting in a few hours, and he had to put a brave face on for his guests, so he tucked that pain away and dialled the next number on his phone.

"Martha Rodgers" his mother answered on the second ring, out of breath and seeming rushed. "Oh, hello, Richard, what can I do for you? I am really busy at the moment, dear."

"Sorry Mother, but I thought you would be here by now getting ready for the party. Or are you planning on making a grand entrance?" Rick asked, knowing his mother's flare for the dramatic.

"Oh, sorry, darling, didn't I tell you? I got invited to a party and script reading with Trip Cullman, you know, the director of that off-Broadway show I have been telling you about? There could be a part in it for me, and I am so excited! I am sure you will be fine without my presence for this once."

"But, Mother" Rick started, wanting to say at least one of his family should be here, after being abandoned by his daughter, but she cut him off.

"Sorry, dear, have to get ready. Have a great time" and then he got dial tone again.

Well, this was ridiculous, Rick thought to himself. It was Halloween, and he was on his own. His family had abandoned him, with no warning, no chance to talk them out of it, or prepare for it. But, he decided after just a few minutes of sitting in his empty loft, feeling sorry for himself, he was a big boy, and he could cope with it. So he got himself a drink from the punch bowl, already set up on the kitchen island, and sat down to watch a little holiday programming on the TV until the guests started arriving.

Except, they didn't. It was over an hour after the party was supposed to start, and he knew some of his guests had a habit of being even earlier than that, and still he was on his own. This was really weird. What on earth was going on? He couldn't call the Mayor, or Patterson, or Connelly, as that would probably be seen as desperation, and if they thought they had somewhere else, somewhere "better" to be, then so be it. So, who could he call? The boys, Ryan and Esposito confirmed only yesterday they were coming, so he called Ryan.

"Hey Ryan" Rick said when the phone picked up, again putting on a cheerful voice, and belatedly realising that he was sitting in silence, which wouldn't sound good on the other end of the phone. "Sorry, just had to turn the music down, it's very loud in here" he said, making the excuse before he could be asked about it. "When are you and Jenny and Espo planning on getting here? Want to make sure there is still punch left for you" Rick figured that was the most subtle way he could ask what he wanted to know.

"Sorry, Castle, we caught a case this afternoon, so I don't think we will be making it" Ryan said, although he didn't sound as contrite as Rick thought he should.

"Oh" is all Rick could think of to say, at being bereft of his friends on this night as well.

"Yeah, and Beckett is being ridden hard from 1PP on this one, so you will have to fly solo, bro. But I am sure it's a great party, and you will have a ball, so much fun you won't even miss us."

Rick was about to respond when he heard some voices in the background, Beckett's being one of them. There were also some strange noises, but he put them down to the bullpen in full flight mode with a case. He wished he could just ditch this non-party and go down there to work with them, but that would not do his reputation any favours. So he slowly switched the music on, as if he was walking back towards the party, and said goodbye. Then he huffed and almost threw himself onto his couch, feeling utterly dejected.

He was shaken from his musings a little while later by a loud knock on this door. Finally, he thought, some of my guests have arrived. But when he opened the door, he was greeted with only 4 police officers, whose collar pins identified them as from the 20th precinct, his local station. They had serious looks on their faces, and the sergeant in charge wasted no time in stating their business.

"Sorry, Sir, but we have had a number of noise complaints, so we need you to come down to the station with us."

Rick had about reached his limit tonight. "Seriously? Noise complaints? Can you see anyone else in this place apart from me?" he asked the police, his voice shrill as he opened the door and swept his arm dramatically around the loft.

"Sorry, sir, as I said, the complaints have been made, and need to be dealt with at the station. Please don't make this anymore unpleasant than it needs to be, and we can have you back to your party in no time." The sergeant kept his tone light, but he had a no nonsense look on his face as he stepped to the side and indicated for Rick to accompany them.

Rick felt like he was in some sort of twilight zone, or alternate universe, but the series of shocks he had received this afternoon had numbed his mind to the point that he went along willingly. He closed and locked the door, then followed the officers into the elevator and down to the squad car, where he was put into the back seat between two of the junior officers, while the sergeant rode shotgun and the last officer drove. He zoned out, musing about how this was the worst Halloween ever, and when he eventually got home he would just go straight to bed, probably assisted with a fifth of scotch or two, then get the cleaners in to remove all the decorations tomorrow. He didn't really want to look at any of it any more.

Slowly, he realised it was taking a long time to get to the precinct, and looked around in the car, taking notice of his surroundings for the first time. They were in a run-down part of town, driving down an alleyway between abandoned warehouses, when the cruiser came to a stop, and all the officers jumped out, the driver now holding the door open for him to get out at well.

"What…. Where" Rick started, but was stunned anew when the driver took his arms behind his back and put handcuffs on him. The sergeant then came up close to his face, and said, in a growl "Somebody wants to have a word with you." Oh God, what had he gotten himself into? And he hadn't even been paying attention on the drive, so he had no idea where he was, how to get out of here. He suddenly realised that all four "officers" if they were even cops, were well muscled and could take him down if he tried to make a run for it. Now he really wished he had ditched the non-party and gone down to the 12th precinct to work with Beckett and the boys.

He was led to the warehouse door, which slid aside with an almighty creak, one any horror movie master would have been proud of. It did nothing for Rick's nerves, however. When they had walked about five meters inside, the door was slid closed again, and there was pitch blackness. Rick wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen next, but for a long minute all sorts of terrible things went through his mind. Then another door ahead opened, and all his senses were assaulted at once.

"Surprise!" Shouted a hundred voices, and suddenly the inside of the warehouse lit up like Times Square. Having gotten used to the darkness, his eyes took a little time to get used to the scene, but slowly things started to come into focus. He was in a large room, the size of a football field or more, and around the edges he could make out tables with food and drink of all descriptions. He could see all sorts of Halloween decorations hanging from the rafters, and now people were moving slowly towards his end of the room, with smiles on their faces, some of them laughing openly.

But the most arresting sight was right in front of him, and it was surreal.

Beckett stood there, in all her ephemeral beauty, dressed as the Lady of the Lake. Her flowing gown did nothing to hide her gorgeous curves, and stunning legs, and for a second Rick was lost in the sight. But then his mind caught up with him, and he flicked his eyes up to hers again, to see her smirking at him, and biting her lip.

"You did all this?" he asked, but even before the words were out of his mouth he knew it was true.

"Well, with a little bit of help from the rest of the family" she responded, and indicated towards her left, where Alexis, Martha, Ryan and Espo were all standing, all dressed as characters from King Arthur. How did they even know he was dressing as Merlin this year? He had been so careful not to let on to anyone. Beckett smirked at him again, like she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Detective, remember. Seriously, Castle, you have been watching me for years, did you not think I could be observing you as well?" as she said it, there was a twinkle in her eye, that had Rick mesmerised all over again. She had been watching him? Why? Unless… he dared not to hope. Her next words had the hope exploding out of his chest, though, and overtaking the rest of his body like a flock of startled butterflies. She leaned in close, making it clear the next words were meant only for him.

"And I like what I see. So how about we mingle and socialise with all your guests, and then later, you and I can enjoy your loft all by ourselves."

Rick thought his heart would burst, and only just managed not to stumble towards her when she half-turned to lead him towards his family. He glanced at her profile, and saw the shadow of a smile flit across her face as they approached the boys. Then Alexis was in his arms, apologising for what she said on the phone, but explaining it was all part of the ruse to get him here, and that she still loved the nickname. He raised an eyebrow at his mother, who just said "you throw the best parties, dear, I wouldn't miss it for the world and with Katherine helping, I knew it was going to be extraordinary."

"Yes." Rick sighed, "Extraordinary". It was going to be the best Halloween ever.

FIN

A/N The writing bug for this caught me very late, so I apologise this is a little rough. And being in Australia, we don't really do Halloween, so I am basing all my insight on what I see in movies and TV – like Castle lol.

This is set around Season four, because we didn't have a Halloween episode that year, and you can probably tell I have ignored a few inconvenient canon truths. Thanks for reading, and to all the other fanfic writers for sharing their much better talents in this little event.


	2. Chapter 2 - Kate's POV

**A/N: Ok, so the ear worm has been annoying me since I published this story, to write Kate's POV. This will also allow me to explain a couple of the plot points that were questioned in the reviews, where I wasn't totally clear on my intent. For everything else, I will quote Richard Castle – don't ruin my story with your logic lol!**

 _It's my party and I'll cry if I want to_

 _Kate's POV_

When Kate first received the fancy invitation in the mail, her first instinct was to decline. Castle was famous for his parties, and his Halloween Bash was well known around New York as a great event, but she wasn't sure if she could stand to be around all his "cronies" and enjoy herself. Yes, Lanie and Espo and Ryan would probably be there, but she wouldn't hide behind them the whole night, that would be pointless.

Not only would the Police Commissioner and his wife be there, but also the Mayor and his wife, and a number of other city officials, as well as Castle's sometime poker buddies, Patterson and Lehane. It would also be bittersweet, as the first Halloween Bash since they lost Cannell. And Montgomery. That caught the air in Kate's throat and she swallowed. She put the invitation aside to look at later.

A couple of days later, Castle asked her as they were heading out after finally closing a tough case, what costume she was wearing. He had that cheeky grin on his face she adored, and she couldn't resist teasing him.

"You will just have to wait and see, Castle. It's a surprise!"

If she adored his grin, she absolutely melted at the sight of the full smile he gave her in response to that and his eyes twinkled.

"Fine, then, Detective, but I will also not tell you my costume. It's only fair, after all."

"Detective, remember? I can find out, Castle" she riposted, and then turned left to get onto the Subway.

While she felt guilty for suggesting to Castle she would definitely be there, in costume no less, before deciding on it herself, she figured she could claim a case or something similar at the last minute, if she changed her mind. That all went out the window when she got a call from his daughter, Alexis.

"Hi Detective Beckett, do you have time to talk right now?" Alexis asked, shy and a little hesitant. Their relationship was still a little stilted since the summer, and Kate was keen to repair it as soon as possible. "Sure Alexis, what do you need? And please, call me Kate"

"OK Kate. I wanted to confirm you were coming to Dad's Halloween party this year. I know you haven't responded yet, but Dad seems to be under the impression you said you were coming." Alexis paused, almost like bracing herself for what was to come next.

"If you are not coming, I think it's important to let him down gently now, rather than have him hoping between now and then, and spending his whole evening moping."

Kate knew that would have been hard for Alexis to say, she was such a polite girl but she adored her father and protected him fiercely. Kate reprimanded herself internally again, for not calling for 3 months and causing this rift in her relationship with the Castle clan.

"Yes, Alexis, I will definitely be there, and in costume. I promised your father and I am going to keep that promise." Kate put on her most confident tone, hoping to convey to Alexis how serious she was about the whole thing, and not just Halloween. Alexis thanked her and then hung up, and her tone of voice at the end was a lot lighter than at the start of the conversation. Now Kate just had to figure out a costume.

It was a couple of days later, after closing another case, that Kate was treating herself to a bath. She had begged off from the drinks Castle was putting on at the Old Haunt for the team, saying she had lots of housework to catch up on. Rather than reading in the bath, as was her usual habit, she spent the time thinking about the Halloween party. She determined she wanted to make it special for Castle, after all the things he had done for her over the last 3-plus years. She decided her first order of business was to find out what Castle was planning on wearing, and find a coordinating costume. In past years she had deliberately shied away from couples costumes, not wanting to confirm people's opinions about her and Castle, especially when there was nothing actually going on, but this year was going to be different. It was going to be memorable in a number of different ways.

Using her detective skills, and a little sleight of hand, she discovered that Castle was theming his costume from Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. She wasn't sure exactly what he was going as, but it was close enough for her to find her own costume. She decided up front she wasn't going to go as Guinevere, even if Castle ended up being Arthur. She wanted a strong female character, but not an evil (or cheating) one. She finally settled on Lady of the Lake, who gives the sword to Uther to drive into the stone, and then repairs it after Arthur breaks and throws it away in a fit of remorse.

The costume she found the following day was perfect, and with a bit of adjustment could be used again. It had a fitted silk bodice, with flowing translucent sleeves, and the skirt was made of multiple layers of the same translucent material, strips of soft fabric that all moved independently giving her an ephemeral look, and not incidentally exposing her long legs and thighs even when she stood still. She knew Castle would love it. Then again, he would love her in almost anything. That thought stopped her short. She had finally admitted to herself that Castle loved her, it wasn't just a deathbed line, said to make her going easier. It had taken much work, both on her own and with Dr Burke, to accept that, and also to make her ready to be in a relationship with Castle. She didn't want to be weak and broken, overwhelming Castle with her emotional baggage. She knew now that she was the one who had sabotaged her previous relationships, always keeping one foot out the door, and running when it looked like getting serious. She refused to do that with Castle. The store assistant interrupted her musings to ask if she was happy with the dress, so she took the opportunity to get changed back into her own clothes, paid for the costume, and headed home to continue planning.

After eating dinner, delivered courtesy of the local Chinese restaurant, Kate filled her wine glass again, and sat on her couch to finalise her strategy. She decided that while she was not 100% where she wanted to be, she couldn't keep herself away from Castle any longer. It was increasingly difficult not to touch him whenever he was close to her, to comfort him when he was down about something, to celebrate with him when he was happy. Every time she saw that lopsided grin on his face, she wanted to lean forward and kiss it. She was ready to dive into it with him, and she wanted to make the start of their 'real' relationship a memorable event. It was going to be at his Halloween party, or at least afterwards – she was still not comfortable about being on display in front of her boss' boss.

She was a little stumped about exactly how to go about it, until another phone call from Alexis a couple of days later set her off on a totally different tangent.

Alexis called because the caterers Castle had arranged called the house rather than his mobile, and Alexis picked up the phone, thereby finding out who he was using. She also managed to get the theme out of them, and wanted to tell Kate her guess about her dad's costume was correct. During the conversation, Alexis revealed that Castle had always organised the Halloween party, from decorating to caterers to invitations. He loved to arrange parties, but a couple of times when things were not going his way, he had lamented to his mother in front of Alexis that no one else ever bothered to arrange a party for him. After a moment of disbelief that such a generous loving man should feel that way, she decided that was exactly what she would do. She knew Castle loved surprises, and so she set out, with the help of Alexis, Martha and their precinct family, to arrange the best surprise she figured he had ever had.

Alexis arranged to have the invitations reprinted with a different address, a warehouse venue that, of all people, Martha knew about. Apparently one of her students had come across it as a rehearsal space, and it was available for hire. Martha was a bit concerned it was on the border of one of the seedier parts of the city, but Kate assured her that it would be perfect for what she had in mind, and with the security some of the guests brought, and half the guests being police or close enough, it would probably be the safest place in the city that night. Alexis and Martha then hand delivered the new invitations to each guest, swearing them to secrecy about the change, explaining only that it was a surprise for Richard, and they were not to answer any phone calls from him on the day of the event. Most of the guests were intrigued by this, had a chuckle about someone pulling one over on the eternal prankster, and agreed to keep it secret.

Ryan and Esposito were very willing participants in the "surprise", having been on the receiving end of one of Castle's pranks in the past. Lanie was a little concerned, and pulled Kate aside two days before the event to find out exactly what she was planning.

"Ok, girl, time to come clean. I get that you want to play a little trick on writer boy, pay him back for all the pranks he's been playing, but don't you think the first part of the night is going to upset him? You know he's not that shallow playboy the media makes him out to be, and having no one turn up to his party is going to play on his insecure tendencies."

"Yes, Lanie, I know he's not really that guy, but we need him to buy the story for just a little while, so the surprise is greater. Besides, I have a little extra surprise for him that I haven't shared with anyone else yet, and I think it's going to make him forget all about anything else that night." The smile on Kate's face was the widest Lanie had seen in a very long time, and she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times while studying her best friend very closely.

"Are you finally going to do what I think you are?" Kate just nodded, the smile getting wider.

"Good on you girly, that man ain't gonna know what hit him! And may I be the first to say, it's about damn time!" Lanie then wrapped Kate up in a huge hug, and whispered one more thing into her ear before letting her go "and I am so happy for both of you."

On the day of the party, Kate was so nervous she broke a precinct coffee cup, bled ink onto the second set of paperwork she had to complete for one of their recently closed cases (the first set had coffee spilled on it), and snapped at Castle more than once. By lunchtime she was ready to send him home, to give herself a breather, before she chickened out of the whole thing. Luckily he spoke first, saying he should get home so he could decorate for the party. With her whole team in on the surprise, none of them argued with him, and bid him a cheery goodbye, saying they would see him that night. Kate made one more half-hearted attempt to find out what his costume was, but Castle just winked at her as the elevator doors closed. Esposito make sure Castle had actually left the precinct, then came back to let Kate know, who dialled Alexis straight away. Everything so far was going to plan.

One of Kate's concerns with moving the party without Castle's knowledge was the waste of food that would be left at the loft. There was no way to prevent that without exposing their plan too early. Alexis assured her that most of the food was finger foods only, refrigerated until just before serving, and Castle wouldn't even bring them out until his guests had arrived, so there would be minimal spoilage. All the alcohol would be on ice anyway, and could always be refrigerated again. With that detail taken care of, Kate left Alexis and Martha in charge of decorating the new venue, ably assisted by Lanie and Jenny Ryan. By 5pm when Kate and the boys showed up, everything was in readiness. Now all they had to do was set up the guest of honour.

The first phone to ring was, of course, Alexis'. The girl suddenly panicked and looked to Kate, shaking her head that she couldn't do this, couldn't lie to her dad, even for a little while. Martha walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, and told her she had those amazing acting genes, now was the time to use them. Alexis nodded and finally answered the phone.

Kate was stunned at how calm and disinterested Alexis sounded on the phone to her Dad, especially as she could actually see the girl's eyes, which still held a hint of panic. When Alexis hung up, she got a hug from her grandmother, and then Kate was there to give her one as well. Kate did have to ask one question, though, that troubled her about the conversation.

"Alexis, why did you tell your dad you didn't like the nickname Pumpkin? I thought you loved that name, especially as he gave it to you when he first held you in the hospital?"

"Yes, I do love it, and it was very hard to say it and keep my voice calm. But I also know that my Dad is very curious by nature, and if he actually starts to think about all this, he will probably figure it out eventually. I wanted to make him upset enough that he wouldn't be thinking clearly, keep him off balance, if you like. Do you think it was too much?" Alexis looked unsure now, thinking she had perhaps taken it too far.

"No, Alexis, I think it was perfect, and I think you are right that if your Dad thinks clearly, he will figure out the surprise before we can spring it on him. Well done!" Kate said, and she could see Alexis glow at the praise.

Next phone call was to Martha, and she handled it wonderfully. When she hung up the phone, Martha smiled at the team and said

"He is definitely unbalanced and already sounding a little sorry for himself. Katherine, this idea of yours is just brilliant. It's great to see my son get a little of his own back, and I can't wait to see his face when he actually gets here."

As the guests were soon to start arriving, everyone then went to specially prepared dressing rooms to get dressed. The first guests arrived not long after, and while everyone knew the party would really start when Richard Castle arrived, they wasted no time in opening up the bar and refreshments.

Kate was getting a little nervous a bit later, when there was no more word from Castle. She almost called him, but Martha grabbed her arm, and whispered "stay strong, Katherine, the result will be well worth it" before replacing her phone with a glass of champagne. Just before she gave in and dialled his number, Ryan's phone rang. Everyone knew what was going on, so just by Kate raising her arm for attention the room lapsed into silence. Ryan played his part so well; Martha asked him afterwards if there were any actors in his family tree. Kate even lent it some credibility by speaking loudly to Esposito about a case, when she heard what Ryan was telling Castle about 1PP.

Once Ryan hung up, and made sure the call was disconnected, Kate grabbed everyone's attention again, and spoke.

"Ok folks, we are about to start the end game of this little party, so I would appreciate your cooperation. Our good friends here, Sergeant Wilson his fellow officers from the 20th precinct, are going to collect our guest of honour. Just before they pull up out front we will ask for silence, and then turn all the lights out while we bring him in. Then, as soon as all the lights come back on, I want us all to shout Surprise. Are you all good with that?" she asked, and received quite a few nods and affirmative comments in return. Wilson and the others were actually cops, from the 20th precinct, in fact, but would be changing out of their uniforms as soon as they delivered Castle, so they could enjoy the rest of the party. Getting permission for this part of the plan had been the hardest part of the whole thing, but the Captain of Castle's local precinct was also a fan and happy to help out. He was one of the guests of the expanded party, no longer limited due to the size restrictions of the loft, thereby allowing Kate invite a few more people, vetted by both Alexis and Martha, who she thought Castle would love to see. Sending 4 cops to pick him up was probably overkill, and might make him suspicious, but they needed to make sure he would actually get to the party, even if he had to be carried here.

When the text arrived to tell her Castle was around the corner, she quietened everyone down, got into position in the front of the warehouse door, and nodded to Alexis to turn the lights off. Because of the silence, she could hear as soon as the car pulled up, and the doors opening and closing, then after a short delay the external door being opened and closed. Anticipation was a heavy lump in her gut, surrounded by a flock of butterflies that seemed to be beating their wings against the inside of her chest. They were not going to get the better of her this time, though. She had made up her mind on what she wanted, and tonight she was going to finally let herself have it.

"Surprise!" the voices of all the guests were a roar that blocked out every other sound in the room, but because Kate was looking straight at Castle, she saw him gasp then take a deep breath, as he worked to win his eyesight back. No surprise that his first action was to look at her, to run his eyes lovingly up and down her figure. When he was in control again, he had just one question.

"You did all this?" his voice was breathy with surprise and awe, and she could see the realisation in his eyes that she had done it for him.

"Well, with a bit of help from the rest of the family" she replied, indicating Alexis, Martha, and of course their precinct family. She saw the word 'family' register with him, and knew it was time to take the final step, even as she knew that he was wondering how on earth she had figured out his costume.

"Detective, remember. Seriously, Castle, you have been watching me for years, did you not think I could be observing you as well?" She saw the surprise on his face that she knew what he was thinking, then the confusion about why she would be watching him, then the flare of hope, which finally reassured her that he still wanted this – them – just as much as she did.

She surreptitiously nodded to Wilson, who was still behind him, who quietly removed the handcuffs, which had not actually been done up in the first place. Castle was still so distracted by Kate and her words (and wasn't that a change) that he didn't even realise his arms were now free, even though they fell to his side.

When Wilson stepped away to get changed, she lent in for the last part of what she wanted to say to him, to make it clear what tonight was all about.

"And I like what I see. So how about we mingle and socialise with all your guests, and then later, you and I can enjoy your loft all by ourselves."

Kate almost laughed at the look on his face, and how he almost stumbled into her in his eagerness to get closer. To save him from doing something he may regret later, if only because it was in front of all his friends, she led him towards their family. She hadn't actually touched him yet, but she could feel the electricity sparking between them. Alexis moved to meet them and hug her Dad, apologising for the things she said on the phone. Kate firmly believed he had already forgotten those words, if only because of the smile on his face while he kept one arm around his daughter, and looked around finally at all his guests, accepting their good natured ribbing about being pranked with his own Halloween party. Martha said something that Kate couldn't quite hear, but the look on Castle's face when he glanced at her again, and whispered "yes, extraordinary" confirmed that she was right, tonight was certainly going to be memorable for both of them and a fitting start to the next stage in their partnership. Of course, the problem was, how on earth was she going to top this?

FIN

 **A/N2: would love to hear what you think.**


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